Nourishing Amy has been a long-term dream of mine. I have always been passionate about food and the more I learned about nutrition and health, I became hooked on feeding myself in the best possible way and soon discovered a plant-based diet. I wanted to feel great on the inside and I believe this will shine through so you will look amazing on the outside, too. Positivity is a major part of my social media and blogging journey and is an integral part of the three ‘Nourishing Amy pillars’,Food, Health and Happiness. Despite my #positivevibesonly I lacked the self-confidence to start a blog but after a couple of years of documenting my food, talking about veganism and spreading inspirational messages I decided to just do it, and haven’t looked back since. I wrote more about this on my first post here.

What is your go-to all time favourite recipe?

The very first recipe I ever shared on my Instagram was for my banana bread and it is the most-baked recipe ever. It is also the cake that I make most often at home, perhaps once a week as my family love it, too. It’s so versatile and is such a crowd-pleaser and so I’ve titled it my Ultimate Banana Bread. It is secretly healthy, full of fibre, is refined sugar free, vegan and easily gluten-free, too! Plus, it tastes delicious.

What are your top tips for someone wanting to live a more healthy life?

Eating and living the Nourishing Amy way is to be in tune with your body’s natural rhythm, to listen to its cravings and to treat each meal as a special occasion – to nourish you from the inside out. This is an important part of living a healthier lifestyle: being mindful about what you are eating, how you are moving and what you are thinking. There’s no use eating really ‘well’ if you’re not going to take some time to relax and concentrate on being kind to yourself. That said, eating ‘well’ will look different for everyone, so I try not to fixate on what others are eating or doing but focus on what my body needs, which will change every day. If I want a slice of chocolate cake, then I’ll have it. If I want a kale salad, I’ll make one with delicious ingredients like creamy avocado and tahini. Life and health are about balance. Aside from listening to your body, meal planning and prepping is a big part of living a nourishing lifestyle. Knowing you’ve got a comforting bowl of food at home after a long day at work ensures you can eat well and not feel stressed about making last minute decisions.

Tell us one thing that our blog readers may not know about you…

I like to think I am pretty honest on my blog and my social media! But, for my undergraduate degree I studied French with Italian and have spent a lot of time both in France and Italy. These were such rewarding experiences and I learnt so much about myself, my strengths and weakness, as well as lots of useful vocabulary! For a foodie, these were equally great experiences, although 4/5 years ago the vegetarian (let alone vegan) scene was less than encouraging where I was! I’m glad to see that veganism is spreading and becoming a lot more main-stream, even in cheese- and meat-heavy countries.

And finally, is there anything you would like to share with our readers?

I want to say a huge thank you to all my Nourishing Amy readers and Instagram followers, as without you, I wouldn’t have nearly as much enthusiasm to keep creating recipes and sharing them with you. Thank you for the platform to share my dreams. The warming feeling when I see you’ve made a recipe or connected with one of my posts is so rewarding – please keep them coming! A huge thank you to Asquith for the Best Food and Nutrition Blogger nomination, it only adds fuel to my foodie fire. I will also let you in on a longer-term dream of mine – I’d love to write a Nourishing Amy cookbook. Who knows what the future holds?